March 2025 Rust Updates

Rust Update: Key Fixes and Exciting New Features that may come to our servers on this Wipe Fixes

Following the recent monthly update in Rust, a series of fixes have been rolled out to address issues that surfaced. This routine cleanup ensures smoother gameplay and enhanced stability across servers. Here’s a brief overview of the key fixes implemented:

• Fixed propane bomb and firebomb both missing their item information panel

• Propane bomb can no longer be placed underwater

• Fixed being able to pick up deployed siege explosives while they are lit

• Server memory leak fixes (Fleck updated)

• Fix left click quick craft crafting 5x of an item instead of 1x of an item

• Fixed issue causing clothing items to disappear when swapping items in inventory

• Added changelog to primitive gamemode

• -- Shows the list of changes when you click on the gamemode button in the top left corner of your inventory

• Misc Error fixes

Hackweek

It’s that exciting time again—Hackweek is in full swing! If you’re new here, Hackweek is when our developers take a break from their regular tasks to focus on passion projects. They choose ideas they believe could make the coolest additions to Rust and dedicate a week to bringing those ideas to life.

Not every Hackweek project makes it into the final game, but many do, and some of these have become some awesome features we've seen in Rust. It's a great way for the team to experiment with new concepts and push the boundaries of what’s possible in the game.

Here's a quick roundup of some exciting projects from this week's Hackweek:

• Electrical Branch Naming: Soon, players might be able to name electrical branches, adding a layer of customization and organization to electrical setups.

• Bunkbeds: Allowing for more efficient use of space in player bases and providing additional sleeping options for teammates.

• Visual Loot: Enhancing visualization of loot based on its size and introducing space-based loot tracking.

• Hand Car: A new feature that allows players to construct a handcar, deployable onto rails.

• Automated Testing: A crucial development for ensuring that core game functionalities remain intact with each staging deploy.

• Bee Swarms: Ian is exploring the integration of bee swarms into Rust, potentially adding a whole new layer to the upcoming beekeeping in the game.

• Modeling Improvements: Significant enhancements are being made to modeling capabilities, including adjustments to player HP, movement speeds, delivery fees, item icons, and entity scaling.

• Server Profiling: This project focuses on enhancing server data tracking and performance metrics, which is key for optimizing overall gameplay.

• Drawbridge: An initial exploration into adding functional drawbridges, which could introduce new dynamics to building and fortifying.

• Blackboards: It looks like simple blackboards could be making their debut, possibly affecting communication or planning within the game.

• Friendly Gestures: Following the addition of crude gestures, there’s work on incorporating friendly gestures to enhance player interactions.

Hopper

The Hopper is an innovative new storage adaptor currently available on the staging branch for testing. Designed to automatically suck up any dropped items within a 1.5-meter radius, the Hopper promises to streamline storage and organization in Rust, making it an essential addition for efficient base management. As this feature undergoes community testing, its integration could significantly enhance how players interact with their environment, saving time and adding convenience to the game's survival mechanics.

Cooking V2

Cooking V2 is making significant strides on the Rust staging server, introducing more complex and rewarding culinary options into the game. This week, eight new pie recipes have been added, each offering enhanced benefits that go beyond basic nutrition, making cooking a more strategic part of survival.

In addition to these recipes, the update includes exciting developments in sustainable food sources with the introduction of chicken coops and bees. The chicken coops have been fine-tuned to include variables like chicken happiness and egg laying frequency, adding depth to animal husbandry in Rust. Meanwhile, bees are becoming a vital part of the ecosystem; natural hives will soon spawn in oak trees around the map, likely providing resources like honey and honeycomb. These probably will be harvested and used in various recipes, integrating bees into the broader Cooking V2 system and enhancing the game's survival mechanics.

• Visual Cooking: Players can now see world models of food items as they cook, adding a realistic visual element to the cooking process.

• Chicken and Coop Updates: New interactions with chickens are being implemented, including a call gesture for better handling (and you can no longer pet chickens while they're sleeping, because that’s rude)

• Recipe Benefits: Recipes now have added benefits for animals; for example, certain foods can enhance horses' digestion, evidenced by increased pooping frequency, which is part of the broader adjustments to how animal feeding impacts their physical behaviors.

• Floral Expansion: Progress continues on the introduction of a variety of new flowers, which are set to enrich the environment and potentially have uses in crafting or as decorative elements.

Here’s a sneak peak at some of the pie recipes:

• Chicken Pie: Gives a +5% better genes chance for 4 minutes when planting seeds.

• Apple Pie: Provides 2 minutes of 100% better night vision, enhancing visibility of node sparkles and bright X's on trees.

• Pumpkin Pie: Offers a +5% chance for 5 minutes of getting double loot when picking up a collectible.

• Hunter's Pie: Provides 150% Increased Harvesting for 5 minutes

• Fish Pie: Increases player strength while fishing by 50% for 5 minutes, allowing faster reeling and reducing the rate at which fishing rods break.

• Survivor's Pie: Provides an extra 150% yield for 5 minutes when harvesting animal and human corpses.

• Pork Pie: Boosts metabolism by 200% for 5 minutes, enhancing healing over time effects by three times.

• Bear Pie: Applies "Digestion Boost" effect, doubles effect of harvesting Teas but halves their duration.

Chicken Coops

A major addition is the introduction of chicken coops, a new feature allowing players to raise chickens. These coops come equipped with multiple bars indicating each chicken's hunger, thirst, affection, and exposure to sunlight, which directly influence their egg production rates. Players can add eggs to the coop to hatch new chickens and must regularly supply food and water to maintain their chickens' health and happiness. This will surely be an integral part of the new crafting update.

Beekeeping

Rust is buzzing with excitement as bees and beekeeping make their way into the game. This new feature introduces beekeeping mechanics, allowing players to manage beehives and produce honey, which can be sold at the Bandit Camp for economic gains, similar to trading fertilizer.

• Craftable Beehives: Construct beehives at Workbench Level 1 to start your beekeeping venture.

• Natural beehives: Found in oak trees, can be harvested for honeycomb, used for cooking or selling.

• Honey Production: Using a nucleus from natural beehives, crafted beehives level up and produce honeycomb, which can be converted into honey jars.

• Economic Benefits: Honey jars can be sold at the Bandit Camp, with potential for more honey-based recipes in future updates.

• Bee Grenade: A new weapon made from beehive materials, currently acting as a flashbang that releases damaging bees.

Flowers

Rust is getting a vibrant update with the introduction of new flowers that now naturally grow throughout the game world. Players can look forward to discovering and collecting several beautiful floral varieties, including:

• Orchids: Delicate and exotic, adding a touch of elegance.

• Roses: Classic and romantic, perfect for decorative uses.

• Sunflowers: Bright and cheerful, ideal for a sunny touch to any base.

The specific applications for these floral items have not been fully detailed yet, but they could potentially be used to enhance crafting recipes and serve as charming decorative elements within the game. These new additions might also play a role in future game mechanics, offering more than just aesthetic value.

Crafting Quality Tea

Crafting Quality Tea affects the probability of crafting items with better quality and the likelihood of those items having additional armor slots. Drinking this tea provides a +50% crafting quality boost for 30 minutes, which significantly increases the chances of producing higher-quality items with potentially more beneficial mods.

Armor Inserts

Armor inserts are a significant new feature still in the experimental stages on the Aux2 branch, which is a preliminary testing phase before even reaching the main test branch. These inserts are intended to add customization and additional protective stats to player armor.

Crafting and Utilization:

• Armor inserts can be crafted with materials like wood, metal, asbestos, and lead. The specific costs and requirements for crafting these inserts are still under development and are expected to evolve based on player feedback and further testing.

• These inserts can be added to armor pieces to enhance their protective qualities. For instance, adding a lead insert to an item of clothing will increase its radiation protection stats.

Types of Armor Inserts and Their Effects:

• Asbestos Armor Insert: Adds heat protection.

• Lead Armor Insert: Provides radiation protection.

• Wooden Armor Insert: Increases projectile and melee protection.

• Metal Armor Insert: Offers higher levels of projectile and melee protection compared to wooden inserts.

This system might expand to include more types of clothing and armor, potentially allowing for further customization like padding or specialized mods that could improve other types of resistances or benefits. Given the current stage of development, many features and specifics about armor inserts are subject to change. 

Premium Servers Incoming

The developers are introducing a new feature—premium servers—with an initial gateway price of $15, launching on March 6th. This initiative is rooted in an analysis of millions of accounts, distinguishing between banned accounts and regular players. The data shows that cheaters typically have Rust Steam inventories valued at less than $20, whereas long-term, regular players often have inventories worth over $20.

To reduce the prevalence of cheaters and enhance the gaming experience, access to these premium servers will be restricted based on the value of a player’s Rust Steam inventory. This criterion was chosen because it's difficult to falsify, making it an effective measure of a player’s genuine engagement with the game.

Engineering Workbench

Rounding out the crafting update, a brand-new Engineering Workbench has been added! This all-in-one workstation allows players to learn and craft various engineering-related items, consolidating everything into a single bench.

What Can You Learn?

• Electrical Components - Wires, switches, batteries, and advanced circuits.

• Plumbing Systems - Pipes, valves, pumps, and water filtration.

• Industrial Equipment - Conveyor belts, factory machines, and automated systems.

• Car Parts - Engines, transmissions, tires, and other vehicle components.

Item Ownership

Item ownership might be making its way back into Rust, adding a layer of detail that allows players to see who crafted an item directly within the info panel. This simpler, revamped version of item ownership aims to enhance player interaction and accountability by clearly displaying the creator's name on crafted items.

As developments continue and more details emerge, we'll be sure to keep you updated on how this feature evolves and integrates into the game.

Drone Buff

Rust's drones just got a major upgrade! The control range has been extended to 600 meters, with a max range of 750 meters, allowing for broader operational use. Additionally, drone health has doubled from 100HP to 200HP, making them sturdier and more resilient in action. These improvements significantly enhance drone utility for scouting and transporting tasks.

Discord Integration

Efforts are underway to integrate Discord chat capabilities directly into Rust. This feature aims to enhance player communication by allowing seamless in-game access to Discord chats. While the development team is actively working on this integration, it's still uncertain when or even if this functionality will go live. As this project progresses, updates will be provided to keep the community informed about the potential rollout of this exciting new feature.

Other Stuff

• Workbench 2 and 3 unlocked by the tier below them and scrap crafting cost removed for wb 2 and 3 - increased HQM cost

• More work on bees and the bee grenade

• Initial work on premium servers (barrier to entry servers to combat cheating)

• Profiling improvements (for performance enhancements)

• Caching for building privilege (potential performance improvements)

• More work on jungle ruins and tigers

• More work on the boomerang

• Work on a triangle planter

• A new single potted plant

• Horse Fixes: Ongoing work to refine horse mechanics and resolve issues affecting their behavior.

• Cloud Enhancements: Developers are enhancing cloud visuals to improve the game's atmosphere and realism.

• Store UI Improvements: Updates to the store interface are being implemented to enhance user experience.